Mr. J

His feet pattered fiercely against the cold floor of the psychiatric hospital, silently greeting everyone he passed as he made his way to the back. He hurried into the locker room shoving his worn-out bag into his small locker. He sighed, checking his old watch. He barely made it on time.

“Youngjae!” his best friend burst into the room, causing him to jump back.

“Sorry.” Jongup beamed innocently.

Youngjae took a deep breath, recomposing himself.

“But I have the best news!” Jongup ran up to him as he shut his locker.

“You got a hired here?” Youngjae questioned.

“Even better,” Jongup said.

Youngjae looked at him unsure of what could have him full of energy this early in the morning.

“You know that cute tall guy that started this internship program with us? The one that’s been talking to you the past few weeks?” Jongup quizzed.

Youngjae slowly nodded.

“I found out that he has a huge crush on you!” He announced, proud of his successful miniature detective work.

Youngjae’s eyes slightly widened, “R-Really?”

Jongup nodded enthusiastically, “And I told him that I’d convince you to go on a dinner date with him at the end of the week.”

The elder’s shock quickly dissipated, overtaken by a hint of cold fear. “I have a boyfriend.” He reminded.

Jongup hung his arm over his shoulders. “That’s why I’m going to help you break up with him.” He said as if it were obvious.

Youngjae’s body stiffed, a rigid chill chased down his spine at the idea. He grabbed Jongup’s collar his heart racing. “You can’t!”

Jongup looked at him wide-eyed.

Youngjae looked at his hands and quickly released his collar backing away. “I…” He rubbed his arm shamefully, “I…I like him. I-I’m not going to break up with him for someone I’ve only know for a few weeks.” Youngjae’s face scrunched together nervously, unable to meet the younger member’s eyes.

But Jongup wasn’t convinced, “Your boyfriend is a jerk. He’s moody and doesn’t like anything.”

He folded his arm. He didn’t understand Youngjae’ insistence on being loyal to his 5-year relationship with his boyfriend. They’ve dated since the end of senior year in high school. He was cool at first, but now Jongup hardly ever saw him anymore and sometimes he kept Youngjae from hanging out with him. The times he’s seen him he was quiet and grumpy.

Jongup didn’t have a good feeling about him, but every time he pressed Youngjae for answers the elder either avoided his questions or made some kind of excuse insisting that everything was fine. But Jongup didn’t even know his apartment address to see for himself, so he made it his mission to find his friend a new boyfriend.

“I know you like this guy. I’ve seen how you’ve looked at him.” Jongup pointed out.

Youngjae rubbed his arm harder and faster, feeling more uncomfortable by the conversation.

“Please. Pretty please?” Jongup pleaded, more desperate than ever. He was determined to get him out of this relationship but had to be careful to make sure the elder didn’t catch on, or who knows how he’ll react.

Youngjae almost smiled at the thought, recalling their warm conversations and how gentle he’d been with him. But his lips never reached a smile. A frown overcame them instead. His corner lip twitched, “He wouldn’t like me.”

Jongup paused. “Of course, he will! Trust me. Who wouldn’t love you?” He pinched his friend’s cheeks. But Youngjae shoved his hands away.

“You don’t know him…I…” Youngjae stepped away from him, “…I don’t want to disappoint him…” He whispered and quickly dashed out the room before his friend could say anything else.

Jongup sighed, mentally cursing himself. He should’ve just taken it slow. Jongup needed to investigate the guy. Youngjae was sensitive and had secrets dear to him that would be shattered if someone he truly liked disapproved of them. He needed proof that this guy wouldn’t do that. Jongup straightened his coat determined to take on his new mission.

Youngjae sighed in relief, glad that the halls were empty. He felt bad for running off on his best friend. He knew the younger cared about him and wouldn’t set him up with anyone horrible. And the guy was really nice, they got along well. But the last thing he wanted was him to judge him over something he was passionate about, and he wanted the guy to still be his friend. The guy already had a certain perception of him that he couldn’t ruin. He…

His thoughts were interrupted when he bumped into two nurses. He quickly bowed, muttering several apologies. “Oh! Youngjae we were just looking for you.” One of the ladies said.

“Uh…Yeh…”

“Your mentor Dr. Kim won’t be in for the next few days.” She informed regretfully. “You can report to the Director to see what your assignment is instead.”

Youngjae nodded. He bowed for a final time about to walk away when they stopped him.

“Do you…Do you know about her new patient? The one who refers to himself as Mr. J?” The second lady asked.

Youngjae paused. He slowly shook his head. He wasn’t aware that his mentor had taken on a new patient.

The two nurses looked a bit surprised but nodded to themselves in some sort of secret understanding before letting Youngjae go.

Youngjae walked down the bright corridors, his shoes clicked on the hard shined floors. He was lost in thought.

Mr. J. The name was eerily familiar, but he couldn’t figure out where he heard it from. Perhaps a comic? He read a lot of those as a kid and teen and even now he snuck to read them when his boyfriend wasn’t paying attention. They were his guilty pleasure.

However, he was more concerned about Dr. Kim’s absence. She wasn’t one to ever miss work, or at least miss work without telling him. She loved her job and he really enjoyed working with her. She felt like the only person that understood him. He just hoped that she was okay.

“Ah Good Morning Youngjae. You’re the person I was just waiting to see.” The Director greeted him when he entered the office.

The intern bowed returning the greeting.

“I guess you know about Dr. Kim.” He continued.

Youngjae nodded, “Is she okay?”

The director furrowed his brow as if to think to himself. “She called this morning before you came, saying she’s going to be out for a few days.” He confessed.

Youngjae’s eyes slightly widened.

“She probably just needs a break. She’s been overworking herself lately, especially since she’s taken on this new patient-,”

“Mr. J?”

The director cocked an eyebrow, “You know about him?”

“I only heard about him this morning.” The director nodded in understanding.

“He’s a special case. He was only checked in a week ago, and Dr. Kim is already having much trouble with him.”

“Dr. Kim?” Youngjae repeated.

He nodded. “She’s one of our best doctors.” He sighed.

Youngjae couldn’t help but wonder if her new patient was the reason why she called out. They were both thinking it, but too afraid to admit it.

“Can…Can I try to talk to him?” Youngjae offered. He suddenly felt intrigued by the situation. Something about tough patients made him excited him, like his mentor. But he also had another reason. A more childish reason. He had a tiny glimmer of hope that the chance that this Mr. J person was similar to one of the characters in his books. A villain maybe, or a hero. Or perhaps both.

The director shrugged his shoulders unsurprised by the request. He was used to having employees who desired to work with difficult patients, and he didn’t expect anything less from his interns. He stood from behind his desk and walked to one of his many filing cabinets. He thumbed through the files in the second drawer before pulling out a thin, empty-looking folder.

He opened the folder revealing two sheets of paper that he skimmed through. “I’ve seen you work with Dr. Kim, and you are one of our most promising interns.” He returned the paper to the folder and closed it shut.

“From her notes, he doesn’t seem to have any violent tendencies, nor has he shown any signs of hostility. It looks like he just doesn’t talk at all…and when he does they're only one-worded responses that don’t appear to relate to anything.” He handed Youngjae the folder. “I don’t see why you can’t meet with him once.”

Youngjae bowed accepting the folder and thanking him multiple times.

“I’ll send someone to meet you there.” He continued.

Youngjae thanked him for a final time before leaving the office.

He carefully looked through the folder and was surprised to see how sparse the two pa